Come in from the cold to a classic French country dish made in a slow cooker. The photo is from “The Mediterranean Slow Cooker” by Michele Scicolone.

People who write slow cooker cookbooks, and who sell slow cookers, would have you believe they are four-season appliances. But anyone who uses a slow cooker knows in her (or his) heart that it is a cold-weather appliance.

In the spring, we crave the fresh, succulent first produce of the garden — peas, radishes, spinach and strawberries. In summer, it’s time for lighter fare such as salads, ripe tomatoes, corn on the cob and grilled fish or meat. None of these foods has any business in a slow cooker.

But during fall and winter, the cooker shines. There is almost nothing more satisfying than coming in from the cold to a pot of simmering stew. If you work all day, that’s not likely to happen unless a) you have a personal chef, or b) you use your slow cooker. And if you don’t own a slow cooker, post-holiday sale season is the perfect time to get one. Some of the new “deluxe” models do everything but buy the groceries. They have dishwasher-safe parts, programmable heating elements and inserts that can be used on the stove to brown ingredients.

This dish, which translates as “pot on the fire,” is the simplest of boiled meat dinners and, at the same time, a complex tour de force of flavors. It was considered a country dish, one that would supply a family with meals for a week (meat and vegetables on the first night, then the broth with various additions — noodles, semolina, rice — and, finally, “potage a la fecula,” or broth thickened with cornstarch). Scicolone gives a nod to this tradition by suggesting that you serve the broth as a first course.

French housewives used to spend quite a bit of time making pot au feu. One source I found said they tied potatoes on the end of bones with string to seal in the marrow; another suggests wrapping the bones in muslin (or cheesecloth).

Beef was the main meat, but classic preparations call for the addition of chicken (or chicken giblets, duck or turkey), veal, pork or lamb. One recipe, in the famed French cooking encyclopedia “Larousse Gastronomique,” calls for adding to the pot a whole chicken — stuffed with fresh pork, ham, chicken liver, onion, garlic and parsley — along with “veal knuckle” and “salted pork knuckle.”

Scicolone’s recipe is far less exotic but still has the satisfying appeal of French farmhouse cooking. It’s a winter dish, no doubt about it. Serve it with Dijon mustard, prepared horseradish and cornichons — those tiny sour pickles available, jarred, in many supermarkets. A baguette and some cheese will make this a classic French meal. Bon appetit!

Place garlic and vegetables in a large (5½- to 7-quart) slow cooker. Wrap parsley, thyme and bay leaf in kitchen twine to make a bundle that you can easily remove. Toss it into the cooker. Place the meat on top. Add salt to taste, peppercorns and just enough water to cover the meat and vegetables.

Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours, or until the meat is very tender when pierced with a fork.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Remove the meat and cut it into chunks. Arrange meat and vegetables in a serving bowl or platter. Cover and set aside.

Remove and discard the bundle of herbs. Skim fat from the surface of the broth and taste for seasonings, adding more salt if needed. Pour some broth over the meat and vegetables. Place meat and vegetables in the warm oven.

Serve remaining broth as a first course, followed by the meat and vegetables. Pass mustard, horseradish and cornichons at the table.